Christmas in June

June 13 (Monday)

Flight - Vancouver to Calgary to Lethbridge. Jasmine had to pick us up in her van since we had so much luggage and it wouldn't all fit in our little Versa. Home at last! Funny how a year flies by. We've experienced so much, and yet when I walked into my house, it felt like we were never even away. Home Sweet Home, There's no place like home.

Waiting for our flight back to Lethbridge.

I started unpacking and sorting and doing laudry. We took all the gifts over to Jas' for the kids. After a pizza dinner, it was like having the Christmas we missed out on as we distributed gifts to the kids. Even though we had seen the family in December, it seems like they've all grown a bit more. I'm soon to be the midget of the family.

Azia and Parker both got me beat.

Bulldog shirt - a must have. 

Basketball jerseys for the boys - "James" for Parker, "Jordan" for Cardiff

June 14 (Tuesday)

Here we go...the start of many appointments to come. I took Mom to Dr. Elke's office to see about getting her new dentures since her old ones are old, about 40 years old! I guess they're supposed to be changed about every 5 years, but these ones are about 40 years. Dr. Elke is on holidays and Ron is the one who makes the dentures. He seems really nice and has many years of experience. I'm sure he'll do a good job.

We stopped by Subway to say "Hi" to the staff. It felt a little strange to be there, almost as if I didn't quite belong. The staff are doing an excellent job of taking care of business. We couldn't have gone on a mission if it wasn't for them...so dedicated and trustworthy.

Tezz, Gina, Judy, Malou, Maricar (The Dream Team) 

Chinese pastry is good, but I miss my Timbits.

June 15 (Wednesday)

I called Kevin McLean at the Museum. He wanted to interview Mom when she got back. We set up an appointment to see him on June 30.

I also called to book a small SUV to rent for our trip to the U.S. It was going to cost us $700.00 so I thought about buying a vehicle and save the $700.00 rental fee. Prior, I had been researching on line for a vehicle. I had pretty much decided that I wanted a Mazda CX 5, so we went to Mazda to check it out. Matt Poytress (son of Shawn, grandson of Chuck, friends of the family), happened to be the salesman. It was an easy sale for him. We had already decided that was what we wanted. So we ordered the car. They didn't have the colour we wanted, so they had one sent down from Calgary the next day. They had it all prepped, polished and shined for us to pick on Thursday. We both love it and are excited to drive it down to the States tomorrow.

Matt Poytress handing over the keys to our new Mazda CX5

We had invited the family over for chicken fried steaks, but because our purchase of the new vehicle took longer than we expected, we ended up just ordering KFC for supper. All is good.


June 16 (Thursday)

Mom had another dentist appointment this morning to fit her molds for her new dentures. They should be ready for her by the time we get back from the U.S.

We got the call that our vehicle would be ready for pick-up today. I was so impressed at how quickly everything come together. They arranged everything, from the registration, license plates, to insurance. Everything went so smoothly. A quick rundown on how everything works, and we were off...zoom zoom. I'm lovin' it.


June 17 (Friday)

We left this morning around 9:00 and arrived at Rylan's new home in Middleton, Idaho around 11:00 pm. It was a long driving day, but a beautiful drive. Mom is such an easy going passenger. She slept most of the way, as did I.

It was fun to fiddle around with all the technology features on our new Mazda. And let me just say, there are a lot of gadgets to figure out how to operate. We decided to get the top of the line model with the skyactive technology package. It includes stuff like bluetooth, sirius FX radio, navigation system and more.

At one point along our drive, there was an engine warning light that came one. Not knowing what it was for, we found a Mazda dealer and stopped to have it checked. It was simply the gas cap had not been tightened. Easy fix, then we were on our way.

It was late when we arrived, but Addey and Aubrey heard us, so they came out to greet us. We're so excited to see the kids. Since they didn't make it over in December, it's been a whole year since we've seen them, and our first meeting with baby Beckham. So Sweet!

Welcoming ButtButt Ida 

June 18 (Saturday)

It was so great to see all the kids. We gave them their gifts. Beckham is such a huggable, loveable, little guy! We went to pick up some groceries. Tomorrow would be Father's Day and Beckham's 1st Birthday! We wanted to do BBQ steaks. We also took Addey and Crew shopping for toys and shopping for Beckham's birthday gift. We take the others on another day. Molly made a marvelous pasta dish for dinner. She's such an awesome cook.

Beckham - Born as we were flying into Hong Kong. 

Crew - Cars Back Pack 

Brayden - Knights and Dragons

Aubrey - Origami

Addey - Chinese Vest

Butt Butt Ida and Beckham

Grampy's little helper - Crew

June 19 (Sunday)

Happy Father's Day and Happy 1st Birthday to Beckham!  This break from the Temple couldn't have been timed any better. Breakfast in bed for John...it doesn't get any better than that for the start of a great day. Their church meetings are all reversed, Relief Society, Sunday School, then Sacrament Meeting. Beckham was needing a nap, so we stayed home with him until it was time for Sacrament meeting. It made it a lot easier for them, not having to struggle with a tired cranky baby.

Happy Father's Day - from Crew - a special gift he wrapped himself.

The Chan Clan #2 - Rylan, Molly, Aubrey, Addison, Brayern, Crew and Beckham (Nina the dog) 

The Chan Clan #2 plus ButtButt Ida 

Happy Father's Day - Father and Son!

Grill Master Chan - Pretty awesome steaks! 

Cool gifts for Dad - Skeet Shooter

Father's Day was topped off with succulent rib steaks which Molly seasoned and Rylan grilled to perfection! Home made apple pie topped off a most delicious meal!